I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 936 

To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to identify, declare, and respond 

to marine disease emergencies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2015 

Mr. HECK of Washington (for himself, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. 

JOLLY, Mr. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. 

DELBENE, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. KILMER, Mr. MCDERMOTT, 

and Mr. SMITH of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 

Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to identify, declare, 

and respond to marine disease emergencies, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marine Disease Emer5 gency Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘coordinator’’ 

2 means an individual designated under section 3(d) to 

3 coordinate the response to a marine disease emer4 gency. 

5 (2) DATA REPOSITORY.—The term ‘‘Data Re6 pository’’ means the National Data Repository for 

7 Marine Diseases Research and Services established 

8 under section 6. 

9 (3) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 

10 ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means the exclusive eco11 nomic zone of the United States established by Pres12 idential Proclamation No. 5030, of March 10, 1983. 

13 (4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Ma14 rine Disease Emergency Fund established under sec15 tion 5. 

16 (5) MARINE DISEASE.—The term ‘‘marine dis17 ease’’ means a pathological condition that— 

18 (A) occurs in a population of marine spe19 cies; and 

20 (B) appears to be caused by an infectious 

21 or noninfectious biological agent. 

22 (6) MARINE DISEASE EMERGENCY.—The term 

23 ‘‘marine disease emergency’’ means an event that— 

24 (A) affects the marine environment; 


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1 (B) is caused by a marine disease or envi2 ronmental stressor; 

3 (C) is likely to threaten the sustainability 

4 of a marine species or the health of a marine 

5 ecosystem; and 

6 (D) is likely to expand in geographic scope. 

7 (7) MARINE ENVIRONMENT.—The term ‘‘ma8 rine environment’’ means those areas of coastal, 

9 ocean, and estuarine waters over which the United 

10 States has jurisdiction, including the exclusive eco11 nomic zone, consistent with international law. 

12 (8) MARINE SPECIES.—The term ‘‘marine spe13 cies’’— 

14 (A) except as provided in subparagraph 

15 (B), means marine reptiles, finfish, mollusks, 

16 and crustaceans, and all other forms of marine 

17 animal and plant life; and 

18 (B) does not include aquacultured animals 

19 of any species, marine mammals, and birds. 

20 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Commerce acting through the Ad22 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos23 pheric Administration. 

24 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

25 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 


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1 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 

2 the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and any 

3 other Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 

4 United States, and each federally recognized Indian 

5 tribe. 

6 (11) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 

7 Group’’ means the Marine Disease Emergency 

8 Working Group established under section 4. 

9 SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF MARINE DISEASE EMERGENCY 

10 AND RESPONSE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may declare a ma12 rine disease emergency in accordance with subsection (b). 

13 (b) DECLARATION PROCEDURE.—After receiving no14 tice that a marine disease emergency may be occurring, 

15 the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable— 

16 (1) not later than 24 hours after receiving such 

17 notice, contact members of the Working Group for 

18 guidance on whether the event is a marine disease 

19 emergency; and 

20 (2) not later than 7 days after receiving such 

21 notice, declare whether the event is a marine disease 

22 emergency. 

23 (c) EFFECT OF DECLARATION.— 

24 (1) POWERS OF SECRETARY.—Upon declaring a 

25 marine disease emergency under this section, and 


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1 subject to the availability of appropriations, the Sec2 retary may take such actions as may be appropriate 

3 to respond to the emergency, including making 

4 grants, providing awards for expenses, entering into 

5 contracts and conducting and supporting investiga6 tions into the cause, treatment, or prevention of the 

7 emergency. 

8 (2) RESPONSE ACTIVITIES.—As soon as pos9 sible after declaring a marine disease emergency, the 

10 Secretary shall carry out the activities described in 

11 subsections (d) and (e) with respect to the emer12 gency. 

13 (d) DESIGNATION OF COORDINATOR.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall des15 ignate an individual to coordinate the response to 

16 each marine disease emergency declared under this 

17 section. 

18 (2) DUTIES OF COORDINATOR.—The coordi19 nator, under the supervision of the Secretary, shall 

20 lead a response to the emergency that may include 

21 Federal, State, regional, and local agencies, non22 governmental organizations, and other persons as 

23 appropriate. 

24 (3) COORDINATOR ASSISTANTS.—The Secretary 

25 may designate one or more individuals to assist the 


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1 coordinator in carrying out the duties described in 

2 paragraph (2). 

3 (e) DEVELOPMENT OF RESPONSE PLAN.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 28 days after 

5 declaring a marine disease emergency under this sec6 tion the Secretary shall, in consultation with the 

7 Task Force, develop a written response plan for such 

8 emergency based on sound science. 

9 (2) CONTENTS.—The plan described in para10 graph (1) shall include, at minimum— 

11 (A) a list of persons at appropriate Fed12 eral, regional, State, and local agencies who can 

13 assist the Secretary in implementing a coordi14 nated and effective response to the marine dis15 ease emergency; 

16 (B) a description of the steps necessary to 

17 diagnose the cause of the marine disease emer18 gency; 

19 (C) training, mobilization, and utilization 

20 procedures for personnel, facilities, and other 

21 resources necessary to conduct a rapid and ef22 fective response to the marine disease emer23 gency; 


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1 (D) an assessment of the potential effects 

2 of the marine disease emergency on populations 

3 of marine species; 

4 (E) strategies to minimize morbidity and 

5 mortality in marine species and minimize trans6 mission of the disease; and 

7 (F) provisions to protect other populations 

8 of aquacultured animals, plants, marine mam9 mals, and birds that could be directly or indi10 rectly impacted by the marine disease emer11 gency or response actions. 

12 (3) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 21 days 

13 after declaring a marine disease emergency under 

14 this section the Secretary shall publish a summary 

15 of the plan on a publicly accessible Internet website 

16 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis17 tration. 

18 (f) TERMINATION OF MARINE DISEASE EMER19 GENCY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A marine disease emergency 

21 declared under this section shall terminate on the 

22 date on which the Secretary declares that the emer23 gency no longer exists, or upon the expiration of the 

24 120-day period beginning on the date on which such 


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1 declaration is made by the Secretary, whichever oc2 curs first. 

3 (2) RENEWAL OF DECLARATION.—A declara4 tion that terminates under paragraph (1) may be re5 newed by the Secretary. The time limitations in 

6 paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to each such 

7 renewal. 

8 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the termi9 nation of a marine disease emergency declared under this 

10 section, the Secretary shall— 

11 (1) submit to Congress a report describing— 

12 (A) the presumptive cause and environ13 mental impact of the marine disease emergency; 

14 (B) the response to the marine disease 

15 emergency and recommendations, if any, for 

16 improving responses to future marine disease 

17 emergencies; and 

18 (C) recommendations, if any, for pre19 venting future marine disease emergencies; and 

20 (2) publish the report on a publicly accessible 

21 Internet website of the National Oceanic and Atmos22 pheric Administration. 

23 SEC. 4. MARINE DISEASE EMERGENCY WORKING GROUP. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

25 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a workVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 20, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H936.IH H936

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1 ing group to be known as the ‘‘Marine Disease Emergency 

2 Working Group’’. 

3 (b) DUTIES.—The Working Group shall— 

4 (1) advise the Secretary on risk assessment, 

5 preparation, monitoring, research, and response to 

6 marine diseases that may significantly impact the 

7 health and sustainability of marine species and eco8 systems; 

9 (2) advise the Secretary in determining whether 

10 a marine disease emergency should be declared or 

11 terminated; 

12 (3) assist the Secretary in drafting response 

13 plans under section 3(e); 

14 (4) assist the Secretary in drafting reports 

15 under section 3(g); and 

16 (5) consult with the Director of the Data Re17 pository established under section 6 to ensure the 

18 quality and availability of the data contained there19 in. 

20 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

21 (1) COMPOSITION.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

22 the Working Group shall be composed of 7 members 

23 as follows: 

24 (A) The Secretary or the Secretary’s des25 ignee. 


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1 (B) The Administrator of the United 

2 States Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

3 Service or the Administrator’s designee. 

4 (C) The Director of the United States Fish 

5 and Wildlife Service or the Director’s designee. 

6 (D) The Director of the United States Ge7 ological Survey or the Director’s designee. 

8 (E) 3 members, appointed by the Presi9 dent, who have specialized knowledge and ex10 pertise in— 

11 (i) marine animal and plant health, 

12 marine animal and plant disease assess13 ments, and responding to disease out14 breaks or ecological disasters; and 

15 (ii) marine veterinary science, bacteri16 ology, virology or immunology, 

17 histopathology, genetics, epidemiology, 

18 ecology, or microbiology. 

19 (2) LIMITATION.—A member appointed under 

20 paragraph (1)(E) shall not be an employee of an 

21 agency (as defined in section 551 of title 5, United 

22 States Code). If any such member becomes an em23 ployee of an agency, that member may continue as 

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1 ginning on the date the member becomes an em2 ployee of an agency. 

3 (3) TEMPORARY MEMBERS.—The Secretary 

4 may appoint additional members to the Working 

5 Group to serve during a marine disease emergency 

6 declared under section 3. 

7 (4) TERMS.— 

8 (A) NON-AGENCY MEMBERS.—Each mem9 ber appointed under paragraph (1)(E) shall be 

10 appointed for a term of 2 years and may be re11 appointed thereafter by the President. 

12 (B) TEMPORARY MEMBERS.—The term of 

13 each member appointed under paragraph (3) 

14 shall expire 90 days after the date on which the 

15 marine disease emergency for which that mem16 ber was appointed is terminated under section 

17 3(f). 

18 (5) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Working 

19 Group shall be filled in the manner in which the 

20 original appointment was made. 

21 (6) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION OF FED22 ERAL EMPLOYEES.—Members of the Working Group 

23 who are full-time officers or employees of the United 

24 States may not receive additional pay, allowances, or 


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1 benefits by reason of their service on the Working 

2 Group. 

3 (7) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Subject to the avail4 ability of appropriations, each member of the Work5 ing Group shall receive travel expenses, including 

6 per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with 

7 applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 

8 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

9 (8) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary, or a des10 ignee of the Secretary, shall be the Chairperson of 

11 the Working Group. 

12 (9) MEETINGS.—The Secretary shall convene 

13 the Working Group not later than 30 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act. Thereafter, the 

15 Working Group shall meet not less than annually 

16 and may also meet at the call of the Chairperson or 

17 a majority of its members. 

18 (d) STAFFING AND ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

19 shall make available to the Working Group any staff, in20 formation, administrative services, or assistance the Sec21 retary considers reasonably required to enable the Work22 ing Group to carry out its duties. 

23 (e) TERMINATION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advi24 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply with 

25 respect to the Working Group. 


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1 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF MARINE DISEASE EMERGENCY 

2 FUND. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

4 Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘‘Marine Disease 

5 Emergency Fund’’, which shall be administered by the 

6 Secretary. Amounts in the Fund shall be made available 

7 without fiscal year limitation, and subject to appropria8 tions, to carry out this Act. 

9 (b) AMOUNTS.—The Fund shall consist of— 

10 (1) amounts appropriated to the Fund; and 

11 (2) amounts received by the Secretary as dona12 tions, gifts, or contributions for the purpose of ad13 dressing marine disease emergencies. 

14 (c) USE OF FUND.—Amounts in the Fund shall be 

15 used only to respond to a marine disease emergency de16 clared under section 3. 

17 (d) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts from 

18 the Fund shall be used to supplement and not supplant 

19 other Federal, State, regional, and local public funds pro20 vided for activities under this Act. 

21 SEC. 6. NATIONAL DATA REPOSITORY FOR MARINE DIS22 EASES RESEARCH AND SERVICES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

24 National Data Repository for Marine Diseases Research 

25 and Services. Subject to the availability of appropriations, 

26 the Secretary shall enter into a contract with an entity 


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1 eligible under subsection (c) to develop and administer 

2 such repository. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Data Repository 

4 shall be to— 

5 (1) collect, store, and disseminate information 

6 regarding research, data, findings, and technical as7 sistance materials related to marine diseases; 

8 (2) facilitate the development, coordination, and 

9 rapid dissemination of research on marine diseases; 

10 and 

11 (3) collect epidemiological, environmental im12 pact, timeline, global positioning system registered 

13 location, and ecological consequence data regarding 

14 marine diseases, linking different datasets across the 

15 country to assist researchers in developing strategies 

16 for addressing marine diseases. 

17 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for the contract 

18 under subsection (a), an entity shall— 

19 (1) be a public or private nonprofit entity; 

20 (2) have experience— 

21 (A) collecting data; 

22 (B) developing systems to store data in a 

23 secure manner; 


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1 (C) developing Internet web portals and 

2 other means of communicating with a wide au3 dience; and 

4 (D) making information available to the 

5 public; and 

6 (3) meet such other criteria as the Secretary 

7 considers appropriate. 

8 (d) DATA REPOSITORY DIRECTOR.—As a condition 

9 of receiving the contract under subsection (a), an entity 

10 shall agree to employ a director of the Data Repository 

11 chosen in accordance with guidance issued by the Sec12 retary. The Director, in consultation with the Secretary 

13 and Working Group, shall— 

14 (1) collect information and research methodolo15 gies from individuals, agencies, and organizations 

16 engaged in the research of marine diseases; 

17 (2) ensure research methods are standardized 

18 whenever possible to ensure data comparability 

19 across regions; 

20 (3) securely store and maintain information in 

21 the Data Repository; 

22 (4) make information in the Data Repository 

23 accessible through an Internet website or other ap24 propriate means of sharing information; and 


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1 (5) ensure that the information contained in the 

2 Data Repository is accessible to members of the 

3 public, marine disease researchers, and persons re4 sponding to marine disease emergencies. 

5 SEC. 7. MARINE DISEASE EMERGENCY FOR SEA STAR 

6 WASTING SYNDROME. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The marine mortality event af8 fecting species of sea stars commonly referred to as ‘‘sea 

9 star wasting syndrome’’ is deemed to be a marine disease 

10 emergency declared by the Secretary under section 3. Be11 ginning on the effective date of this section, the Secretary 

12 shall immediately carry out the activities described in sub13 sections (d) and (e) of section 3 with respect to such ma14 rine disease emergency. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

16 on the date that is 180 days after the date of the enact17 ment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

20 this Act $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2016 

21 through 2021. 

Æ 


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